Desert Island Deeds
Skyways|March 2019

Quissanga Island, in northern Mozambique’s Quirimba Archipelago, reminds of the charm of minimalism.

Bruce Dennill
Desert Island Deeds

The skippers at Medjumbe Island Resort, accessible via Pemba, are so skilful that they can get a 10m boat within a casual step’s distance from the beach without the craft touching the sand – regardless, somehow, of the tides. Climbing on board for the short transfer to Quissanga Island, visible from Medjumbe and a couple of kilometres closer to the mainland, is the beginning of a journey across the spectrum of different colours water can be.

Inside Medjumbe’s encircling reef, it’s almost clear in the shadows, with the slightest hint of aquamarine a little out. Before crossing that barrier it becomes a turquoise so intense it is almost painful to look at without sunglasses. And then, as the swell grows and the boat ventures out over the channels, the water changes to a profound indigo – almost black in the deeper areas. That range then reverses as the sea-floor slopes up towards Quissanga again, to be explored first-hand later with a mask and snorkel.

Simple pleasure

The set-up on the small island is, by design, very unassuming. The infrastructure is limited to one raised thatch lapa, with a bar, a sitting area and a four-poster bed with a mosquito net – plus an unpretentious ablution area to one side. Guests spending a day on Quissanga can take these basic elements and fit them to a desired schedule, having the bed moved to the beach if the weather is clear or a picnic set up on a cleared, swept area in a copse of coconut palm trees in the centre of the island.

Denne historien er fra March 2019-utgaven av Skyways.

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Denne historien er fra March 2019-utgaven av Skyways.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.